Make A Difference

I'd like to share a great quote with you from the late actor and writer, Leo Rosten: “The purpose of life is to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all.”

Makes you think, doesn't it?

The truth and accuracy of this quote is something anyone can accomplish to some degree no matter what your social or economic position is at this moment. To make a difference there are two fundamental things you must do.

The first is you must discipline yourself to lifelong learning and the second is you must check your references.

In the 21st Century knowledge and information in virtually every field is doubling every two to three years. Whatever information base you have is rapidly becoming obsolete. You must be in the process of continually taking in new information and ideas just to stay even.

You must read something educational 30 to 60 minutes every day. Reflect on what you have learned, and think about how you could apply new ideas in your daily business and personal life. One of your goals should be to contribute what you have learned so that others can learn your thoughts and discoveries.

You should invest in audio learning programs. Whether you travel to and from work in your car or use public transportation you can use this time as valuable learning time. These are valuable hours of down time that you cannot afford to waste, so use them to learn.

Attend all the live training and educational seminars you can. You can often save yourself weeks, months, and even years of hard work by attending seminars given by an expert who gives you state-of-the-art ways to get your job done faster and easier.

The second thing you must do to make a difference is always check your references. When you do, say, or write something you should always ask yourself, “Am I going to do, say, or write this because of what I've observed or heard others doing, saying or writing, or because I feel it's the best thing I can do, say or write?”

Keep in mind we live in a politically correct and opinionated society where most people say or write things that are wrong most of the time. Most people do, say or write things because they have either formed the habit or are part of a political ideology. There's got to be room for improvement here.

Yes, the purpose of life is to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we have lived. We need to remember that in each of us there's a considerable gap between our political, habitual way of living and our potential.